WHEREAS, the Agricultural Industry is among those industries most significant to the economic welfare of the State of Delaware; and

WHEREAS, during the past quarter of a century the number of acres of Delaware land devoted to farming has dwindled from approximately 814,000 acres to 630,000 acres; and

WHEREAS, the continued loss of farmland, in Delaware and elsewhere, threatens our national economic and social interests; and

WHEREAS, a course of action designed to slow the loss of farmland should be settled upon only after those segments of the community most significantly affected have had the opportunity to study the problem and make proposals.

NOW, THEREFORE, I PIERRE S. du PONT, IV, by the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Delaware, do hereby declare and order as follows:

1. Establishment

The Governor's Advisory Committee on Farmland Preservation (the "Committee") is hereby established.

2. Membership Members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Governor as follows:

a. one representative of the Association for Preservation of Farmland,

b. one representative of the Delaware Farm Bureau,

c. one representative of the Delaware State Grange,

d. one representative of the Delaware Council of Farm Organizations,

e. one representative from the Agricultural Extension Service of the University of Delaware,

f. the Chairpersons of the Committees on Agriculture of the Delaware State Senate and the House of Representatives,

g. one representative of the Real Estate industry,

h. one representative of the "Agri-business" industry,

i. the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, ex officio,

j. the Director of the Office of Management, Budget and Planning, ex officio,

k. four public members.

3. Chairman

The Chairman of the Committee shall be selected from its members by the Governor.

4. Duties

The Committee is hereby charged with the following duties and responsibilities:

a. To gather such facts as it shall deem necessary in order to document the magnitude of the loss of farmland and to make reasonable projections of anticipated tomes;

b. To identify those farmland areas in Delaware where the potential for the loss of farmland is particularly acute;

c. To identify the causes for the loss of farmland;

d. To develop a statement estimating Delaware's need to preserve farmland and to quantify that need to the extent that available data makes such an estimate reasonably possible;

e. To examine federal, state and local statutes or administrative rules and regulations affecting the loss of farmland;

f. To propose legislation or administrative action designed to reduce the loss of Delaware's farmland and to estimate the fiscal impact, if any, of such proposals.

5. Committee Support

Such staff and facilities support as is deemed reasonably necessary and available by the Director of the Office of Management, Budget and Planning shall be provided to the Committee by the Office of Management, Budget and Planning in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and other affected state agencies. In addition, the Director of the Office of Management, Budget and Planning shall advise the Committee whether, and to what extent, federal assistance may be available.

6. Committee Report

The Committee shall make its recommendations and proposals to the Governor no later than January 1, 1981.